Nov. 20, 2009

Box Score |  Quotes

HOUSTON, Texas - Senior outside hitter Ksenija Vlaskovic became the third player in Tulane history to reach 1,500 career kills, tallying 15 in the match with a career-high with 21 digs as the Tulane volleyball team out-lasted SMU, 3-1 (25-23, 25-27, 25-15, 25-18), at the Conference USA Volleyball Championship Friday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse. C-USA Co-Player of the Year Visnja Djurdjevic led all players with 22 kills, to go with 18 digs as Tulane improves to 18-8 overall and advances into the semis.

"We expected a tough match," head coach Sinisa Momic said. "We knew we had to keep going until we tired them out. The first two games finished with a two-point difference, later we were more steady. In the end we proved our offense worked better than their offense, with both defenses playing great."

The Green Wave racked up 95 digs and held SMU to a .078 hitting percentage on the day. Five members of the Green Wave were in double-figure digs, led by Vlaskovic. Senior setter Rachel Lindelow turned in 18 digs, tied with Djurdjevic for second on the team, while senior defensive specialist Jaye Loyd added 14 and senior libero Jenn Miller chipped in 12. Junior middle blocker Lindsey Shepard set a career high with seven digs, while freshman right side Milica Jovic tied her career best with five. The 95 digs in four games was the most per set (23.75) Tulane has recorded in a match this season.

Freshman middle blocker Marija Milosavljevic recorded 10 kills with nine assisted blocks. Lindelow posted 48 assists with four service aces as Tulane topped SMU for the third time this season and ninth consecutive time dating back to 2005. Lindelow opened set one with an ace and Tulane took an early 4-0 lead, but the Mustangs fought back to knot the set at 7-7. Djurdjevic posted a solo block and a kill for an 11-8 lead, but SMU responded out of a timeout with back-to-back points as they evened the set at 13-all. Vlaskovic helped the Wave to a 18-14 edge with a pair of kills, however the Mustangs again had an answer, as Katheryn Wilkerson posted a block to pull within 20-19. Tulane led 24-20 off of three kills and an ace from Lindelow, but the resilient Mustangs crawled back to within 24-23 before Vlaskovic nailed home set point. Djurdjevic tallied nine kills in set one, while Vlaskovic chipped in nine digs.

In set two, the Wave led 7-5 before three straight points from the Mustangs gave SMU its first lead of the match. That began a 9-2 run by SMU as the Mustangs stretched the lead to 15-10. Tulane reeled off three straight points featuring a kill and a block by Marija Milosavljevic. Tulane rallied from down 21-16 to tie the set at 23-23. The Green Wave led 24-23, but SMU answered with a kill by Wilkerson and a block on Tulane's next attempt. The Green Wave fended off set point once, but a kill from Kendra Kahanek and an attack error gave SMU the 27-25 win.

The Mustangs opened to a 7-4 lead in set three, but Tulane ripped off a 13-4 run as Vlaskovic nailed kill number 1,500. After the set was tied 10-10, the Green Wave scored 15 of the next 20 points to coast home with a 25-15 win. Tulane hit .196 for the set, but held the Mustangs to a -0.23 hitting percentage.

Down 6-3 again in set four, Tulane scored four-straight points, capped by an ace from Jaye Loyd. A pair of blocks from Milosavljevic helped the Wave establish a 12-8 lead, but the Mustangs trimmed the gap to 15-13 prompting a timeout from Momic. After SMU pulled to 15-14, Shepard and Djurdjevic posted back-to-back kills, and Milica Jovic added a block and a kill as Tulane led 20-15. Lindelow then fed Milosavljevic in the middle twice as Tulane closed the match, 25-18.

Tulane will face second-seeded Tulsa in the semifinals on Saturday at 2 p.m. Tulsa defeated seventh-seeded UAB, 3-1, in the day's second quarterfinal.

"They have this year's co-Player of the Year and also Freshman of the Year," Momic said of Tulsa's Jennifer Eichler and freshman Tyler Henderson. "Offensively, they are good and overall they are playing well as a team. We expect another tough match tomorrow. Tournaments like this, there's no holding back. You have to just leave everything on the court and we expect another match like that tomorrow."

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